Landfill in Loudoun Makes List of Most Hazardous U.S. Sites

As you know, there are articles galore on the internet about uranium and uranium mining. Those that support mining and enriching uranium to use as a power source inevitably make at least one statement about the governmental agencies who will "police" the companies involved in the process being discussed and enforce the myriad laws, ordinances and standards that are in place to protect both people and the environment. Today, I've received the Washington Post article below from several people. While it doesn't involve uranium, it does tell a grim tale about another contaminant and the performance (or lack of it) of at least some of the governmental entities (including the EPA) who should have been involved in preventing and controlling the pollution. Immediately below is one of the better introductions to the article that I received. I invite you to take a close look at what has gone on right here in Virginia with trichloroethylene.

If you want a very recent example of how the government has handled contamination issues – including private water wells – then you will want to read this story to the end. The contamination of the wells (with TCE) is believed to be sourced to a landfill and was first detected in two residential wells in 1989. “Over the next 15 years, five newly drilled wells also tested positive for the agent. Affected property owners were immediately informed, officials said, but many in the community did not become aware of the issue until 2005, when the Loudoun County Health Department reviewed its records and deemed the positive tests a pattern. Subsequent testing revealed more than 25 contaminated wells, said Richard Doucette, waste program manager for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Northern Regional Office.” I would bet cleanup will take much longer than “several years,” and the detection of the contamination has likely come too late for anyone who may be able to conclusively trace their health issues to it (which is a very difficult thing to do by legal standards). Please note such sentences as “The EPA attempts to make the parties responsible for the contamination pay for the cleanup; otherwise the government does” and “The EPA declined to specify who might be held responsible for the pollution.”

By Jonathan Mummolo
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 20, 2008; B04

A closed landfill in Loudoun County that health officials say probably contaminated nearby residential wells with a toxic chemical was added yesterday to a federal registry of the nation's most hazardous waste sites.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added the 25-acre Hidden Lane Landfill in Sterling to its National Priorities List of Superfund sites. The designation means the agency will begin assessing the extent of the pollution and develop a plan to remove it, although it could take several years for the cleanup to be completed, said Roy Seneca, an EPA spokesman.\

The landfill is the probable source of trichloroethylene, an agent linked to several types of cancer, that was first detected in two wells in the adjacent Broad Run Farms subdivision in 1989, officials said. The liquid solvent, known as TCE, is commonly used to degrease metal.

Loudoun residents were relieved to hear that the site, which was proposed for the Superfund list in September, had been approved and that a cleanup would be coming.

"People are ready to be done with it," said Eric DeJonghe, 43, who grew up in the subdivision and is president of the Broad Run Farms Civic Association.

Seneca declined to speculate on the cost or timeline for the cleanup. The first step is a "remedial investigation," which averages 18 months, to confirm the source and extent of the contamination. Next comes a feasibility study on what can be done to fix the problem, after which several options for cleanup are made public for review and comment. After an option is selected, the project moves to the design and implementation stages.

To date, the EPA has added 56 sites in the District, Maryland and Virginia to the priorities list, eight of which have been cleaned up and removed from the registry.

Hidden Lane operated as a landfill from 1971 to 1984, closing after the county won a court dispute over a zoning violation. The EPA said the landfill "accepted a variety of solid wastes, including construction and demolition wastes, land clearing wastes and other items such as appliances, tires, paper and cardboard" during a time when Loudoun was becoming one of the fastest-growing jurisdictions in the country. In 1985, the landfill was covered with a clay cap. The site remains vacant.

In 1989, low levels of TCE were detected in two wells in the now 330-house Broad Run Farms community, the eastern edge of which is bounded by the landfill, officials said. Wells in the area were first tested in 1989 after residents complained about possible illegal dumping at the private landfill.

The subdivision had about half as many houses at the time, DeJonghe said. Over the next 15 years, five newly drilled wells also tested positive for the agent. Affected property owners were immediately informed, officials said, but many in the community did not become aware of the issue until 2005, when the Loudoun County Health Department reviewed its records and deemed the positive tests a pattern.

Subsequent testing revealed more than 25 contaminated wells, said Richard Doucette, waste program manager for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's Northern Regional Office. The department has been monitoring the area and has installed water filtration systems in 25 affected houses; five residents who installed their own systems were reimbursed.

Since the contamination became well known, several residents have informed county officials of medical problems, including various types of cancer, said David Goodfriend, director of Loudoun's Health Department. They are concerned that the contaminated water might have caused the conditions, he said.

Goodfriend said the county treats such concerns seriously but has not confirmed that any illnesses are directly linked to the water.

"We're not aware of any health effects in people or animals directly tied to the TCE," he said.

Goodfriend said it took more than a decade to detect a pattern of contaminated wells because of an old practice by local health officials of simply notifying the well's property owner rather than also testing surrounding areas.

"We now realize the advantage of taking that additional step of, when we do see an abnormal testing result, to look at surrounding properties . . . to see if this may be a reflection of groundwater contamination," he said.

Loudoun Supervisor Andrea McGimsey (D-Potomac), whose district includes the landfill, called the issue "personal," saying a friend whose home is bounded by the landfill has health problems and suspects they were caused by TCE.

"That uncertainty, that feeling of not being safe in your own home, that's really the core issue," McGimsey said.

DeJonghe said that he is pleased by the Superfund listing because it promises to bring closure to the issue but that the area should have been cleaned up long ago.

"I'm frustrated that the state turned a blind eye to it," he said. "If there's TCE in somebody's wells, it's coming from somewhere. It's not natural."

The EPA attempts to make the parties responsible for the contamination pay for the cleanup; otherwise the government does.

Hidden Lane's former owners, Philip Smith and Albert Moran, are dead, and the property was passed to their estates.

The EPA declined to specify who might be held responsible for the pollution.

"We're still conducting research into determining who the potential responsible parties could be," Seneca said. "We're focused on the cleanup."

Heather Stevenson, an attorney with McGuire Woods in Richmond who represents the Moran estate, declined to comment.